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State-owned National Aluminium Company (Nalco) will add an additional one million tonnes per annum (MTPA) capacity by 2016 to its existing 2.1 MTPA alumina refinery in Odisha for about Rs 4,570 crore, a senior company official said.
A draft of detailed project report (DPR) for the expansion of the alumina refinery has been prepared and it is being scrutinised currently, the official said.
He added that "after the completion of the expansion, we hope to generate additional revenue of about Rs 2,000 crore and additional profit after tax of about Rs 450 crore."
According to him, the 1 MTPA expansion of Nalco's existing alumina refinery will get bauxite from Pottangi mines in Odisha, which has a reserve of about 65 million tonnes (MT).
The company has already received in-principle approval for mining lease from the state government for the mine and has plans to begin production simultaneously with the new capacity at the alumina refinery. The mine, at its existing reserve levels, can produce bauxite till 2036.
When asked about other expansion projects, the Nalco official said it is progressing well but declined to comment further.
Other expansion projects of the company include Nalco's plans to set up a 1 MTPA alumina refinery in Gujarat for about Rs 4,065 crore and 0.5 MTPA aluminium smelter and 1,260 MW captive power plant in Sundargarh district of Odisha for about Rs 16,345 crore.
Nalco is Asia's largest integrated aluminium maker, having captive bauxite mines, alumina refinery, aluminium smelter and casting, power generation, rail and port operations.
It currently has alumina production capacity of 2.1 MTPA at Damanjodi and 0.46 MTPA aluminium production capacity at Angul in Odisha. By this fiscal, Nalco would be adding some small capacities at both -- alumina refinery and aluminium smelter.
The company feeds the alumina refinery from its captive bauxite mine at Panchpatmali hills of Koraput district, having 6.3 MTPA production capacity. It is also in the process of expanding the capacity of the mine to 6.8 MTPA by this year.
According to vision 2020 document of Nalco, the company has plans to have 4.40 MTPA alumina making and 1.730 MTPA aluminium producing capacities in India by then at an investment of over Rs 40,000 crore. Besides, it is also aiming for 5,000 MW captive power generation capacity by 2020.
Alumina is the intermediate product of aluminium and is produced from bauxite.
